Flames fall at Cleveland State

March 3, 2014

Rachel Story led the Flames with 20 points Saturday. Photo: Timothy Nguyen

The women’s basketball team (20-8, 9-6 Horizon League) led by one with six minutes remaining but allowed Cleveland State (14-14, 9-6 Horizon League) to score nine consecutive points in a 78-70 defeat Saturday at the Wolstein Center. The Vikings scored 40 points in the paint and 21 points off turnovers.

UIC, currently in fifth-place in the Horizon League standings, concludes the regular season Thursday, hosting Detroit (6-21, 3-11 Horizon League). Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. at the UIC Pavilion.

Senior Rachel Story led all scorers with 20 points. Sophomore Ruvanna Campbell scored 19 points and pulled down 17 rebounds for her 20th double-double of the season.

UIC lost the rebounding battle (41-39) for just the fifth time this year and allowed 15 offensive rebounds. The Vikings scored 18 second-chance points and made 21-of-30 free throws.

UIC led 36-31 at halftime but shot 33 percent in the second half while allowing CSU to shoot 48 percent. It is the first game this season where UIC failed to hold onto a halftime lead.

The Vikings took their first lead of the second half at 49-47 with 13:01 remaining. UIC responded with a 9-0 run, punctuated by Story’s three-pointer at 9:49.

CSU scored 10 out of the next 14 points and trailed 60-59 following Terri Bender’s free throws with 6:05 remaining. The Vikings went on a 9-0 run and hit 12 free throws down the stretch to seal the win.

Story scored 14 points in the first half and six after halftime for her 11th 20-point effort of the season. She now owns 22 20-plus point performances in her UIC career.

Campbell had 13 points and 11 rebounds in the second half on the way to her tenth straight double-double. She finished the game 7-of-12 from the field.

Campbell is averaging 20.5 points, 14.3 rebounds and shooting 54.2 percent from the floor over the last 10 games. Her 335 rebounds are the third most in a single season in program history.

Seniors Katie Hannemann and Emily Kobel both contributed 11 points for the Flames. Hannemann needs 12 more points to become the 19th player in program history to reach 1,000 career points. Kobel was 3-of-7 from downtown and ranks sixth in program history with 139 career made three-pointers.